wam proxy and 403 errors?

Thu Feb 6 15:36:20 EST 2014

Lately we've been getting a lot of patrons reporting getting "403 forbidden" errors when using our proxy server (WAM).

We were originally told that this indicated a problem with the patron's record, but we've had a lot of reports of it from people with no problems or blocks on their records.

Oddly, we're NOT getting the 502 Proxy error these days, which I was pretty sure meant our proxy server was getting overloaded, so now I'm wondering if the 403 error has replaced it? Somehow? But when we got the 502 error, it usually went away if you used a different browser, and the 403 error does not.

I'm trying to troubleshoot what could be going on without any actual access to our proxy server. So I was just wondering if anyone else using WAM (or any other?) proxy server has run into this and what you did about it.

(I am the person who posted not so long ago about WAM and was strongly encouraged by this list to move to EZProxy, which we are in the process of doing, by the way, and this should be completed within the next month.)

Thanks,
Amy

Amy Fry
Electronic Resources Coordinator
Jerome Library
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
419.372.2690
afry at bgsu.edu
personal.bgsu.edu/~afry

-----Original Message-----
From: Web technologies in libraries [mailto:WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of WEB4LIB automatic digest system
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2013 11:01 PM
To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: WEB4LIB Digest - 16 Oct 2013 to 17 Oct 2013 (#2013-238)

There are 4 messages totaling 960 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. take pressure off proxy server? (2)
  2. Job: Library Web Manager at Brown University Library
  3. Repost::  Survey > Quality and Pedagogical Guidelines for Open Educational
     Resources (OER) Use in Higher Education

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2013-10-17

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:    Thu, 17 Oct 2013 15:44:23 -0400
From:    Thomas Bennett <bennetttm at APPSTATE.EDU>
Subject: Re: take pressure off proxy server?

Don't know if you are doing this already but if you filter your clients before they have to use WAM can take some load off.   

Before we moved to Drupal we were using Zope in which once you get to subject or title page a call would be made as such

<dtml-call "REQUEST.set('hostname',ip_add_flag())">

Where the return value of ip_add_flag(), a python script returning 1 or 0, would set the http environment variable 'hostname' and let this code

  <dtml-if hostname>
       <A href="http://<dtml-var vdb_local_url>"><dtml-var vdb_title></a>
     <dtml-else>
       <A href="http://<dtml-var vdb_proxy_url>" target="new"><dtml-var vdb_title></a> <font size=-2>(opens in a new window)</font>
     </dtml-if>

display proxy url to off campus or non proxy url if on campus, and urls are all in a database

The script simply used the split function which is also in Perl and probably Ruby or any other language and check the first 2 octets of the ip address, we owned the entire range and that is what really makes it work. (split on the period in the ip address and check [0] and [1] elements of the array that split returns.

Not having as much experience in php we now have all our database links using the proxy url but the same solution should be able to use in Drupal using php or an external script call.

 Recently the local Google Search Appliance (on campus Google indexing server/spider) brought down our WAM proxy server by too many proxy links being checked at a time, guess it was a threaded process.  So still having the old server running because some services still are not duplicated on Drupal, we still had a database page where we could at least give on campus users access to some of our databases.  Since moving to the Drupal site the old server had not been updated to which databases we had access to but most of them we still had licensed.

I'll be happy to share any scripting or answer any questions if anyone is interested.

Tom

====================================================
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====================================================
Thomas McMillan Grant Bennett           Appalachian State University
Operations & Systems Analyst            P O Box 32026
University Library                                Boone, North Carolina 28608
(828) 262 6587
Library Systems                              http://www.library.appstate.edu
====================================================

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On Oct 16, 2013, at 10:31 AM, Amy Lynn Fry wrote:

> Hi!
>  
> I am brand new to Web4Lib.
>  
> We currently use WAM proxy. Every semester, during our busiest times, our proxy server tends to get overloaded, and, as a result, people cannot access resources. They either don’t load, or users get a 402 or a 403 error.
>  
> Is there a way we could set up our resources to take pressure off our 
> proxy server? (without having two links in every record)
>  
> We are investigating moving to EZProxy, and I’m really, really hoping we will do that next year, but I’d like to be able to offer our patrons a more reliable experience using our resources NOW. Can anyone help me?
>  
> Thanks,
> Amy
>  
> Amy Fry
> Electronic Resources Coordinator
> Bowling Green State University
> Jerome Library
> Bowling Green, OH 43403
> 419.372.2690
> afry at bgsu.edu
>  
> ============================
> To unsubscribe: http://bit.ly/web4lib
> 
> Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/
> 
> 2013-10-16
> 

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2013-10-17

------------------------------

Date:    Thu, 17 Oct 2013 16:55:40 -0400
From:    "Ashton, Andrew" <andrew_ashton at BROWN.EDU>
Subject: Job: Library Web Manager at Brown University Library

Brown University Library seeks a Library Web Manager to oversee and manage content and software tools to support the Library’s web presence.  The Library Web Manager will coordinate with stakeholders across the Library to administer the Library’s content management system and ensure consistency and accuracy of information on the Library’s public websites, intranet, and social media.  S/he will work to improve the integration of the Library’s web-based discovery systems, and assist in the assessment, testing and implementation of new or improved services.

Responsibilities:
• Provide oversight and guidance for the creation, organization and maintenance of content for the Library’s public websites and intranet • Coordinate with content owners to ensure that the Library’s web presence is relevant, accurate, up-to-date, user-centered and accessible • Collaborate in the design, implementation, and management of a Drupal content management system (CMS) for the Libraries, including responsibility for configuration and user support • Develop and recommend policies, workflows, and content authoring guidelines for Web content development, implementation, and maintenance • Conduct training in creating web content using the CMS • Working with a library-wide advisory groups, assist in the development of effective and intuitive interfaces for the discovery of library content by ensuring the effective presentation of search options, metadata, and related resources • Field questions and identify solutions to improve access and retrieval of library resources via the web • Regularly assess and promote awareness of new and existing services, such as Summon, VuFind, etc.
• Participate in the design, implementation and analysis of user research/usability studies • Conduct regular analytics to identify opportunities for improvement

Qualifications:
Required:
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Demonstrated content management and web publishing experience • 3-4 years of related professional experience • Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills • Ability to think creatively • Demonstrated experience working with content management systems (e.g.
Drupal, Wordpress) and information technologies relevant to web site design and maintenance (e.g. HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP) • Strong understanding of usability, usability testing, and information architecture concepts • Experience with web analytics analysis • Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills

Desired:
• Master's degree in Library or Information Science, Computer Science, or equivalent.
• Experience developing and managing Drupal-based web sites • Supervisory experience leading a team

To apply for this position (Job #B01524), please visit Brown’s Online Employment website (https://careers.brown.edu), complete an application online, attach documents, and submit for immediate consideration. Documents should include cover letter, resume, and the names and e-mail addresses of three references. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Brown University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

--
Andrew Ashton
Associate University Librarian for Digital Technologies Brown University Library

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2013-10-17

------------------------------

Date:    Thu, 17 Oct 2013 17:21:03 -0700
From:    Cary Gordon <listuser at CHILLCO.COM>
Subject: Re: take pressure off proxy server?

The answer is that you should move to EZProxy sooner than later. WAM, like Squid and other similar solutions, is resource intensive. EZProxy is not. It is easy to setup and configure, and it is supported by a great community (and, of course, OCLC). It was very inexpensive when we worked with it, and I don't think that it is very expensive now.

I believe it is likely that doing the move now would take less resources than trying to fix your WAM issue.

Thanks,

Cary

Amy Lynn Fry <afry at BGSU.EDU> wrote:

> From: Web technologies in libraries [WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on 
> behalf of Amy Lynn Fry [afry at BGSU.EDU]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 10:31 AM
> To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> Subject: [WEB4LIB] take pressure off proxy server?
> 
> Hi!
>  
> I am brand new to Web4Lib.
>  
> We currently use WAM proxy. Every semester, during our busiest times, our proxy server tends to get overloaded, and, as a result, people cannot access resources. They either don’t load, or users get a 402 or a 403 error.
>  
> Is there a way we could set up our resources to take pressure off our 
> proxy server? (without having two links in every record)
>  
> We are investigating moving to EZProxy, and I’m really, really hoping we will do that next year, but I’d like to be able to offer our patrons a more reliable experience using our resources NOW. Can anyone help me?
>  
> Thanks,
> Amy
>  
> Amy Fry
> Electronic Resources Coordinator
> Bowling Green State University
> Jerome Library
> Bowling Green, OH 43403
> 419.372.2690
> afry at bgsu.edu
>  
> ============================
> To unsubscribe: http://bit.ly/web4lib
> Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/
> 2013-10-16
> ============================

============================

To unsubscribe: http://bit.ly/web4lib

Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/

2013-10-17

------------------------------

Date:    Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:55:30 +0000
From:    "McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]" <gerrymck at IASTATE.EDU>
Subject: Repost::  Survey > Quality and Pedagogical Guidelines for Open Educational Resources (OER) Use in Higher Education

*** Spoiler Alert > Possible Duplicate Posting ***

Colleagues/

FYI

/Gerry

Dear OER Experts or University Educators,

The researchers are conducting an online survey to develop and validate a set of quality and pedagogical guidelines which individual educators in higher education can apply in selecting and utilizing freely available OER for their teaching. OER can be full courses, textbooks, course materials, video/audio lectures, tests, and any other materials or tools used to support teaching and learning.

We are asking for your help in validating the quality/pedagogical guidelines for OER by completing an online survey. This survey should take about 10 minutes.

This survey has 4 sections:

  *   Section 1, Your Background, consists of 4 questions.
  *   Section 2, Quality Standards, consists of rating the importance of the 18 Quality Standards.
  *   Section 3, Pedagogical Guidelines, consists of rating the usefulness of the 10 Pedagogical Strategies.
  *   Section 4, Additional Comments, consists of an optional opportunity to provide additional comments or suggestions.

Your responses will be added together with other experts and educators involved in developing and/or using OER in selected universities in various regions . Your participation in this study is voluntary and you may stop at any time. Your participation in this survey will remain confidential.  The survey does not require any personal information that would identify who is making the responses.  While there are no foreseeable risks to you as a participant in this survey, your participation will contribute significantly to creating Quality Standards and Pedagogical Guidelines for OER useful for effective university teaching. We shall be pleased to share results of this survey with you upon request.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact any of the researchers below.

If you’ve read our explanation above and agree to participate in this survey, please click the “Continue to Survey” button below.  If not, please exit this page.

Findings of the survey will be first shared on a website (http://web.icu.ac.jp/IERS) and later published in an open journal which is under a Creative Commons license.

Thank you for your contribution to the development of the quality standards / pedagogical guidelines for OER use in higher education.

Sincerely,

Researchers
Insung Jung (isjung at icu.ac.jp) and Teruyoshi Sasaki (sasaki at icu.ac.jp) Professors of Education, International Christian University
3-10-2 Osawa, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-8585, Japan
Tel: 81-422-33-3125/3123

Source and Link Available At

http://open-resources-librarian.blogspot.com/2013/10/survey-quality-and-pedagogical.html

Gerry McKiernan
Associate Professor
and
Science and Technology Librarian
Iowa State University
152 Parks Library
Ames IA 50011

"It's Not The Journey; It's The Detours."

http://ref-notes.blogspot.com/2013/09/its-not-journey-its-detours.html

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2013-10-17

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End of WEB4LIB Digest - 16 Oct 2013 to 17 Oct 2013 (#2013-238)
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2014-02-06